My life as a farm wife

From Feast to Famine

The past month has been unbearably hot and dry on the farm. It’s incredible how quickly things change. After waxing lyrical about all the beautiful rain we were getting in November and December, things suddenly turned to drought. Before we left for our holiday towards the end of January the farm was looking the best it has in years. All the crops were planted and growing beautifully and the grass was lush and green. By the time we got back 10 days later, things were starting to look very stressed and it’s just got worse since then with daily maximum temperatures soaring to 40 degrees and not a drop of rain! Thankfully it is cooler today, and there are some signs of rain around, but at this stage we need more than a few drops to revive the crops. In fact, it’s probably too late for most of our mealies. My husband is being a real trooper, trying not to let it get to him too much and focusing instead on the work he loves most with his cattle. It’s soul destroying though when our weather app predicts rain that never materialises.

Last week we had a little family photo shoot with our Boran cattle. I’m trying to get all our marketing material sorted for the year and we needed some updated photos which included Livia. Our very talented friend, Ziona Bothma, agreed to spend some time with us and I think she got some amazing shots! The cattle were so well behaved and posed quietly behind us for about an hour. Only afterwards did we see that they were standing in a perfectly colour coded group – from white to red. As always, it was very special to spend time with them up close, and needless to say, little Livia absolutely loved it!

My journey began when I married my love in November 2010 and moved from the city to our farm in rural South Africa. Thanks to the wonders of technology I have kept one foot in the city whilst emersing myself in a new life on the farm.